IS GOOGLE’S NEW UPDATE STOPPING CUSTOMERS FROM FINDING YOUR WEBSITE?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS:

Google search results emphasize businesses that get the best Google and Yelp reviews – and that also have the best Google SEO

Those top-ranked results will also show up in the search sidebar (Google Local) – and the businesses with the best Google reviews will appear as giant headlines above the others

Map-based searches will only show the top three or four Google-reviewed businesses – with star ratings based exclusively on Google reviews – and those with the best SEO. All lower-ranked businesses get pushed off the map

Your Google ranking impacts whether or not your business will show up in a search within the Google Maps app

If you’re worried about whether your business has been affected, use the free review at the bottom of this page to find out

THE FULL STORY

Yelp and TripAdvisor are both lashing out at Google over a recent discovery that Google pushes results from Yelp and other review sites lower on the page.To see this in action, run a quick Google search for businesses in your zip code. Paid Google ads appear at the top of the page. Next comes a Google map, then Google-rated local search results, then natural search results – then finally you’ll see results from Yelp.

Google now actively rewards businesses with great SEO and a top rating on local review sites.

Neglect either one of these factors, and you’ll drop lower in search results – maybe even disappear off the map altogether.

More than 90% of Google users never read past the first page of results – and the top spots on the first page are by far the most clicked. A lot of big, well-funded marketing machines fight fiercely for those top spots every day, with proactive SEO and reputation management.

Even worse, competitors can now appear in search results for local brands, if they’ve got the best SEO and review scores in the neighborhood – meaning a search for your business can now deliver results about your direct competitors.

IF YOU’RE NOT FIGHTING BACK WITH YOUR OWN SEO AND LOCAL REVIEWS STRATEGY , YOUR BUSINESS MIGHT AS WELL BE INVISIBLE.

Start right now with our FREE Digital Visibility Website Audit. In just seconds, our tool analyzes your website and generates a detailed report of your SEO “red flags,” like problems with description and header tags, keyword usage, code placement, social integration, and mobile-friendliness.

SEO and local search have converged.

You already know reviews are crucial to a positive reputation. A difference of just a single star has long been able to impact a business’s profitability. In fact, a 2011 study by Harvard Business School found that a one-star increase in a company’s Yelp review could boost its revenues by 5 to 9 percent.

The problem is, many people access review sites like Yelp through Google – which means Google gets final say over which businesses get ranked the highest, and which ones get hidden from search results. As Google’s review base grows, we believe Yelp’s popularity and relevance will gradually fade.

Now that Google has made sure SEO and reviews both impact search ranking, businesses that tailor their strategies to Google’s standards are getting ranked the highest. High rankings bring more customers, who leave more positive reviews, pushing the business even higher up the page – and keeping it at the top.

Meanwhile, businesses with less-than-perfect SEO or few five-star ratings get pushed lower and lower. They may even get pushed – literally – off the map, as Google actively hides them in the Maps app.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE LOCAL MARKETING

Owners Who Don't Know If They've Claimed their Google Business Listing25%

This reality is already impacting your business, whether you know it or not.

People can create Google Local reviews for your business without your approval. You may not even receive an alert. In fact, people are probably rating and reviewing your business on Google Local right now, impacting your search rankings with their opinions. Do you know what they’re saying about you?

And Google Local reviews are just the beginning.

To protect your search rankings, and your visibility on Google Maps, you need to juggle a whole list of review sites – Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, YellowPages and a host of others – while minimizing the very real damage caused by negative reviews on each of them.

At the same time, you’ve got to keep re-tweaking and fine-tuning your SEO, so your competitors don’t get ahead of you in the rankings that way.

By the way, you’ve got to juggle all these factors while keeping your day-to-day business afloat.

The next step is to REVERberate your positive reviews into more positive reviews with our REVERB tool, which complements your SEO and pushes you even higher in search results.

We’re experts in moving the needle on reviews and on SEO.

Over the past year, we’ve proven that our unique SEO and reputation management techniques can raise a business’s Google search ranking by more than 50 percent – quite literally putting that business on the map, and at the top of Google search results.

If you’re worried about how your business has been affected by Google’s updates, or you simply don’t know whether you should be concerned or not, get started with our free review below.

Take the first step and take a FREE look at your DIGITAL LANDSCAPE today.

Then let us help take you to the next level

COPYRIGHT 2018, DIGITAL VISCOSITY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Increased ROI

Austin Emergency Center provides upscale, concierge-level medical care services throughout central Texas. DV has partnered with the company since 2013, campaigning to attract visitors to AEC’s website, then converting those visitors into loyal patients. Most recently, DV leveraged CRM and marketing automation platforms to optimize AEC’s digital marketing spending, according to our own proprietary techniques. The result was a 15% increase in new patients within the first 3 months alone.

Web Development, Digital Strategy, Search, CRM, Marketing Automation

DV ENGAGEMENT SCOPE

15%

INCREASE IN PATIENT VOLUME

REVERB

A multi-location medical service provider was struggling to maintain a positive online reputation. Though the facility provided superb care for thousands of satisfied patients, few of those patients were posting five-star reviews – while the few negative reviewers were far more vocal. We rolled out our proprietary REVERB technology to maximize and spread positive reviews, and supplemented that campaign with offline incentive programs. In just 3 months, all locations saw a 10% increase (or more) in positive online reviews. The system as a whole achieved an 18% increase in review scores across social media, driving a significant increase in new patients.

DV ENGAGEMENT SCOPE

1.1 star

INCREASE IN ONLINE REVIEW SCORES

Lucky Strike

Lucky Strike Entertainment operates a national chain of bowling alleys, billiard parlors, bars, restaurants, lounges, art galleries and music venues. The company had been using disparate, unconnected tools to track sales and leads at each venue – creating a clear need for an integrated sales and marketing solution. Digital Viscosity rolled out a unified platform that organized all leads into a consistent sales funnel – then helped train Lucky Strike’s sales staff to leverage the new technology. In less than a year, the company achieved a 30% increase in leads, and a 50% boost in content subscribers.